Play pipe construction



Oct. 25, 1938. w THOMPSON I 2,134,347

PLAY PIPE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 28 1957 Patented Oct. 25, 1938 2,134,347 PLAY P IPE CONSTRUCTION Wayne B. Thompson, Winchester, Mass, assignor to Spray 7 Engineering Company, Somerville, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 28, 1937, Serial No. 161,460

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to apparatus for use in extinguishing fires. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for use in extinguishing fires on the surface of inflammable liquids, such as oil, which are immiscible with water.

Such fires present an extinguishing problem not found in the case of burning non-liquid materials. Whereas with the latter the application of more or less solid streams of water is effective, in the case of oil fires such streams are not effective and serve chiefly to spread the fire. But while such application of water is not effective to extinguish an oil fire, it by no means follows that an oil fire can not be extinguished by the use of water. The explanation lies in the manner in which the water is applied, and considerable success has been attained in extinguishing oil fires by directing upon them aspray of highly atomized or finely divided water particles, something quite different from a solid stream or jet of water. The principle of extinguishing by this method is that the flames turn the water into steam, this being eifectedvery quickly because the heat acts-on minute water particles, and then the steam acts as a blanket over the fire, putting it out by excluding the air necessary to support combustion. In the performance of this process the surface of the oil is not disturbed by the spray, and thus there is none of that spattering or splashing or churning of the burning oil which, as is well known, serves to scatter and spread it. Because of the nature of an oil fire, stationary spray-forming apparatus is not suitableto use. The flames must be chased, as it were, as they recede over the surface of the oil, thereby rendering ineffective apparatus mounted to discharge at only a given area. For the samereason apparatus mounted for movement is'not satisfactory either; for the great pressure of the water at the nozzle (around 100 pounds or'more per square inch) results in great resistance to movement of the apparatus, and quite independently of any pressure resistance, the field of play is at best limited, a situation that should not exist when it comes to extinguishing a burning substance that may'fiowfreely.

As a consequence it is the practice to use water spray apparatus of the manually'operated type, and because of the great water pressure necessary for an effective spray, the apparatus is commonly handled by two men at the nozzle, or discharge end. It should also be pointed out that the discharge end of the apparatus does not comprise merely an elongated nozzle coupled to a hose, but

comprises a nozzle mounted'on one end of a pipe, called 'a play pipe, the other end of which is coupled to the hose. The axis of discharge from the nozzle is acontinuation of the longitudinal axis of the play pipe, and the hose coupling may or may not have associated therewith handles which aid the men in" dragging the hose along-the,

ground and in supporting the pipe, their other former, lacking that carry for the spray, are

necessarily used rather close up, the wide spread of the spray forming a shield which protects the men from the heat. I

But'while play pipe constructions are 'improve'ments over stationary and movablymounted nozzles, they still exhibit the difficulty of being unwieldy and awkward to handle and are not adapted for quick or abrupt changes in the direction of the spray to effect the ready and continuous fia'me chasing necessary for the most efficient and rapid'operation'. They likewise are unsuited for directing'a spray downwardly over the edge of a tank, or around obstacles such as machinery in a ship' engine room, for one example; The w'eightand length ofthe playpipe construction are factors in this, of course, but thereal cause of the difficulty of such manipulationlies in the fact that the constructions are not adapted to counteract and offset thetendency which the great pressure of the rushing water hasto make'the nozzleand adjacent'h'ose portion assume the straight line or axial direction of the water rushing from the main body of the hose and to resist: any effort to change the direction of the discharge so that the spray can be played on different surface areas.

It is the principal object of the'presentJin-' vention toobviate this difficulty, that is, to provide a spray-forming play pipe construction which may be handled with ease and speed to cause the. sprayto take any desired direction, as is necessary for themost rapid extinguishing'of fire on the surface of a body orpool of oil.

To the accomplishment of this object and such The various features of the present invention will be readily understood from inspection of the accompanying drawing, illustrating the best embodiment of the present invention now known to the inventor, in which Figure 1 is a view of the apparatus in front elevation;

Fig. 2 is a view in left side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a view in plan;

Fig. 4 is a detail view'in sectional elevation taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detail view in sectional elevation, similar to Fig. 4, but showing a modification of the piping and coupling;

Fig. 6 is a detail view in'sectional elevation taken along the line 66 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 is a view in sectional elevation of the nozzle.

provided with a hosecoupling member Ill (Figs. ,1, 2, and 6) which is interiorly threaded at H to receive a male coupling member (not shown) attached to a nose, as is well understood. The coupling member I0 is provided with a lower reduced cylindrical portion l2 terminating downwardly at a transverse shoulder |3 which serves as a rest or stop for a ring l4. At opposite sides the ring is provided with outwardly extending, generally U-shaped handles l5 adapted to be grasped when the apparatus is in use. The ring 14 is held on the coupling member ID by a sleeve IS the lower portion of which is threaded on the upper reduced portion I! ofthe coupling and extends outwardly over the ring, 'as indicated. The reduced portion I! has a smaller diameter than the reduced portion l2, therebyresulting in the formation of a shoulder l8 which serves as an abutment for the bottom of the sleeve Hi. The. internal diameter of the'ring I4 is appreciably greater than the external diameter of the reduced portion l2, and as indicated in Fig. 6 the height of the ring is slightly less than that of the reduced portion |2. With this construction the ring is free to be rotated on'the coupling member I0, but the abutments or stops provided by the shoulder I3 and the bottom of the sleeve |6 effectively maintain the ring mounted on the coupling. The sleeve is preferably locked against rotation on the coupling member,-as by one or more set screws l9, thereby making the members I0 and I6 anoperative coupling unit.

Threaded into the sleeve. I6 is one end of a length of pipe 20, the other end of which is threaded into the lower portion of a coupling 2|. The upper portion of the coupling 2| receives the threaded lower end of a second and longer length of pipe 22, preferably of the same diameter as the length Zlland axiallyaligned therewith so as to make an eifectiveextension thereof. In order to make the connections between the sleeve I6 and the pipe 20, and between the coupling 2| and the pipes 20 and 22, strong and to provide for support against any tendencyof the piping to warp or bend at the sleeve and the coupling 2| as the apparatus is moved during use in opposition to the force of the rushing water, the sleeve is provided with an integral, internally cylindrical extension 23 (Fig. 6) which embraces the end portion of the pipe .20, and the coupling is provided with similar integral, internally cylindrical extensions 24 and 25 (Fig. 4) which embrace the adjacent end portions of the pipes 20 and 22, respectively. While the construction as thus de-. scribed is sturdy, its strength, particularly against any turning of the pipe ends in the sleeve l6 and the coupling 2| may be augmented by brazing the sleeve to the pipe 20 as indicated at 26 and by brazing the coupling 2| to the pipes 20 and 22, as indicated at 21 and 28, respectively. This construction, together with the set screws l9, makes for a coupling, sleeve, and piping arrangement that is operatively integral and fixed against relative movement among its parts.

In order to efiect the desired discharge of water from the apparatus, the upperend of the pipe 22 is provided with a nozzle 29 of the type adapted to discharge a bushyand full or homoemitting from standard fire nozzles. While any nozzle may be used which is capable of producing the desired spray, it is much preferred that the nozzle have the general structure and mode of operation of that disclosed in the patent to Aubrey G.- Eneas, No. 1,101,264, as this nozzle hasbeen found to be highly effective in the use of the illustrated embodiment of the present invention to produce the type. of spray desired for extinguishing oil fires. While the details of construction and operation of the Eneas nozzle may be ascertained from the above-noted patent, it may be said, with reference to Fig. 7, that the nozzle comprises a shell or casing 30 within which is mounted a water guiding member 3| provided with vanes 32 which give a swirl to water enter: ingthe nozzle and effect the production of swirling streams 33 within a mixing chamber 34. The member 3| is also provided with a central axial passage 35 providing for a central jet of water 36 which mixes with'the swirling streams 33 within the mixing chamber. By reason of this construction, water entering. the nozzle is discharged as afull cone spray of highly divided or atomized particles For reasons which will be explained below, the axis of discharge from the nozzle 29 is angularly disposed tothe longitudinal axis of the piping 20-22. This is effected by giving the upper portion of the pipe 22 a 45 bend 31 (Figs. 2 and 3),

although it will be appreciated that the same result can be obtained byproviding the base of the'nozzle with the bend and by leaving the pipe 22 entirely straight. I

The'construction is completed by the provision of a second set of handlesmounted on the piping. To this end; and referring to Figs. 14, the coupling 2| is provided laterally with oppositely disposed bosses 38 into each of which isthreaded one end of a handle 39 so as to always have the same position with respect to. the coupling, in contrast to the movability of the handles IS. The handles 39 extend outwardly from the coupling 2| and the piping 2022, preferably being normal to a plane passing through the axis of the piping and the discharge axis'of the nozzle 29. The handles 39 may be rods as shown, or they may have an equivalent operative construction, and they may be provided with rotatable grips or covers, but the-important point is that so: far as the operation and handling of the apparatus during spray discharge are concerned, the connection of the handles proper with'the coupling 2| should not be a swinging one, so that the handles are not movable or swingable toward or circumferentially of the coupling and the piping during spray discharge but remain outstanding. The handles have suificient length so that when grasped the hand is well spaced from the piping, and the mounting of the handles in the bosses 38 may if desired be fixed in threaded-in position by means of brazing 4.0. A

In the construction described above the piping has been illustrated as being in two portions, 20 and 22, with the coupling 2| serving to connect them in axial alignment and alsoservingv tojoin the handles 33 to the piping. .An alternative construction in this respect is'shown in Fig. 5, characterized'by the. fact that instead ofemploying two pipe portionsas: 20 and 22, only a single length 4| of pipe is used, having the overall length of the piping 20-22 as" joined by the coupling 2|, and being connected at its lower end to the hose coupling member Ill and supporting the nozzle 29 at its: upper end all in the same manner as shown in. Figs. 1, 2, and 3. e

In order to mount the handles 39 on the piping 4 l, a support such as a collar 42 is provided which has a smooth cylindrical interior adapted to em brace the piping 4| and which is maintainedfixed in its embracement therewith by means of brazing 43 at its opposite ends. To receive the threaded ends of the. handles 39-, the coupling 42 is provided laterally with oppositely disposed bosses 44, and the handles may if. desired be maintained in thebosses 44 by means of brazing 45. As is the case with the coupling 2i as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the collar 42; is spaced from both the handles [5 and the nozzle 29,. being nearer to the former.

In using either of the illustrated embodiments of the present invention, the coupling member [0 is connected to a suitable hose construction as is well understood. Preferably two mensupport and operate the apparatus, one hand of each man grasping a handle I5 and their other hands.grasp-' ing the end portions of the handles 39, respectively. As this provides for a firm gripping of the apparatus since the handles 39 do not swing, it will be seen that the hose may with minimum difficulty be dragged along the ground toward the fire or otherwise moved as occasion requires- By reason of the piping 22 or M extending forwardly of the handles 39, the nozzle may be located in close proximity to the fire while the men stand away out of its immediate heat, and further heat protection is afiorded by the bushy cone spray which acts as a shield and asis well known is cool because of its atomization. By reason of the bend 31 the apparatus need not be held so that the piping 20--22 or 4| is pointed directly at the fire area being sprayed, which would generally be downward as in the case of aburning' pool or burning oil on a floor-this manner of holding and the ease which it involves being in direct contrast to the position necessary for piping where the direction of 'the discharged spray is axial of the piping. Since the grasping of the handles 39. afiords a better hold and a relatively great movement leverage in contrast to gripping the piping itself, the apparatus may be conveniently moved, and the adjacent hose portion moved also, to cause the discharge to take different directions as the. steam blanket'produced over one sprayed area causes the flames to recede' to. a different area. Also by reason of this better gripping and leverage the movement of the apparatus may be speedy, which is much desired and is. in contrast to the use of present apparatus, for the leverage resulting from gripping the ban esf3'9 is much more effective. than that from merely grippingthe piping itself to overcome the resistance to movement occasioned by the'high pressure rushing water in the piping-and the hose. It will be further apparent, by reason of: the bend 31' together with the movement facilityuarising from grippingthe handles 39, that the spray can be. directed downwardly over the edge of; a'tank against flames immediately adjacent its walls, a mode of operation impossible with'play pipe con: structions. in. which :the direction of ispray discharge is axialrofthe piping, Byv the same token, the apparatus; can get aroundobstaclesv other than tank sides, such as around. machinery or between .parts' thereof, for example, in a'much easier manner than is the. case; with the straight type of construction mentioned? above, and'as a matter of fact, the-present inventionma'y be. used to get at. parts; or places. which a straightlcon struction can not reach atall.v "The. high efi'i-' ciency' of the illustrated embodiment of the present invention wilixthus be readily appreciated,

, Butwhile the remarks. in the preceding. para--v graphhave been concernedjwith a general de scription of the. operation and efiectiveness of the present invention, there is. a further .operative point of greatwimportance, not brought out above and impossible withip'resent apparatus.

Inusing present play pipe constructions, i. e constructions in which the direction of spray dis charge is. axial of therpiping, the spray 'can be played about or over different surface-areas only byswingi'ng thepiping bodily from 'side to side'or up or down, the hose coupling portion {being roughly the pivot areafor these movements-or by moving the. entire'a'pparatus bodily from one locationto, another, The high pressure water rushing through thepi'ping and the hose. results in considerable: resistance to; these movements but asis well known'this resistance can beover come and. the apparatusmoved ,-:an'd such/overcoming" is accomplishedwith. the-pipe itself being .gripped by the hands that are not holdin'gflonto the base of the pipingor handles thereat. However,.thatflleverage which is sufficient to effect such movements, i. e., which arises from the gripping of the pipe itself,'is'quite insufiicient to enable. the men. to rotate" the piping on its longi-' tudinal axis, and thus this type of :piping movement, in contr'ast to those mentioned above, is quite out of the question. There is also in volved in addition to the rotary movement of the piping, a rotarymovement of at least the adjacent hose portion, and with the type of hose necessary to accommodate the high waterpres sure and to provide av sufiicient. volume of'water', together with thenature of the piping, such -ro tarymovement is not possible by a mere gripping of the piping manually. I am well aware, however, that the occasion for this. rotary movement never arises with present play pipe constructions because 'witha direction of spray discharge that is axialof thepiping, that discharge direction will always be the same no matter what the rotative positionbf the piping may be. But'this very sameness of direction brings out by contrast. a highly important point in the use of the presentinv'ention, in that my.

improved construction is such that there can actually be accomplished that rotary movement' ofthe piping which is out. of thequestion where the piping itself is gripped and-at the same time that rotary movement is accompanied by'a change .inthe direction ofndischarge-this in contrast tively moving the piping, the very leveragewhih mere pipe gripping precludes. Since the coupling member ID is free'tolrotate withinthe ring H, as a sort of guide, the handles 39 may be used to rotate the piping about its longitudinal axis, thereby effecting a changeiin the direction of the nozzle discharge because rotative movement of the piping causes the nozzle 29 to swing about the bend 31 as a pivot. Moreover, in contrast to the bodily movement and change of position 'of the workmen themselves which must take place-in using present constructions to effect a spray direction change that is even as little, as is represented by a 90 swing; for example, of the nozzle 29, in using the present invention such a change of spray direction may be accomplished without the. taking of a step by the men and with no more movement on their part than is necessary to turn the piping by means of the handles 39. As this mode of operation provides sufiicient turning leverage, it will be seen not only that the present invention canbe used in a manner impossible with present 'constructionsbut also that a highly desirable speed and fineness of movement is accomplished in contrast to the slow and awkward movements which are necessitated when the piping can not be rotated manu ally or the direction of discharge is axial of the piping. The speed and efiectiveness of turning the piping so as to chase the flames is not confined to spraying generally over the body of oil, but is also present when spraying over tank'sides and around or between other obstacles. In fact, in these latter examples the turning of the piping-to swing the nozzle is particularly useful and advantageous over present constructions since the necessary changes in spray'direction will frequently be small. i

It will be seen that various changes may be made in the illustrated embodiments of the present invention without departing from the true scope of the actual'invention set forth in the claims herewith. The particulars illustrated and described are not, therefore, to be consid-' ered essential. While the present inventionhas been disclosed in connection with theextinguishing of oil fires, it will be seen that it is not limited to this use,.and itis contemplated that the apparatus may be constructed for manipulation by one man instead of two, although the latter is preferred. While the dimensions of thevarious parts of theembodiment shown I mayzob viously be varied as desired to suit a given situation, it may be stated that in one embodiment that has been successfully-used in extinguishing oil fires, the over-all length, from the base of the coupling member ID to the tip of the nozzle 29, is approximately six "feet, the distance from the axis of the handles 39 to the base of the coupling member H1 is approximately 33 inches, and the handles 39measure approximately 15' inches outwardly from the center of the piping. With a Water pressure of I pounds or more a hose diameter of 2 inches is commonly used, and the coupling member It therefore has an internal diameter such as to receive a coupling proper for such hose. H Y

What is claimed as new is:

l. A play pipe construction having, in combination, a hose coupling member, piping fixedly connected at one end to the coupling member so as to be stationary throughout relatively thereto, a nozzle for discharging an atomized spray mounted on the other end of the piping so that the axis of spray discharge is angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the piping, a handle construction rotatably associated with the coupling member, and means connected to the pipingfor facilitating its manipulation and for turning it on its said axis to vary the direction of the spray discharge. 2. A play pipe construction having, in combination, a hose coupling member, piping connected at one end'to the coupling member so as to be stationary throughout relatively thereto, a nozzle for discharging an atomized spray mounted on the other end of the piping so that. the axis of spray discharge is angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the piping, a handle construction rotatably associated with the coupling member, and means connected to the piping and spaced from said handle construction for facilitating the manipulation'of thezpiping and for turning it on its said axis to vary the direction of the spray discharge. I

3; A play pipe construction having, in combination, a hose coupling member, piping fixedly connected at one. end'to the coupling member so as to'be stationary throughout. relatively thereto, a nozzle for discharging an atomized spray mounted on the other end of the piping so that the axis of spray discharge is angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the piping, a handle construction rotatably associated with the coupling member, and means connected to the piping and spaced fromxb'oth said handle construction'and the nozzle for facilitating the manipulation of the piping and for turning it on its said 7 axis to vary the direction of the spray discharge.

4. A play pipe'construction having, in combination, a' hose-coupling member, piping fixedly connected'at one. end to the coupling member so as to be stationary throughout relativelylthereto, a nozzle for discharging an atomized spray mounted on the other end of the piping so that 1 the 'axis 'of spray discharge isangularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the piping, a handle construction rotatably associated with the coupling member, and another handle construction non-swingably mounted on the piping.

. 5; A play pipe construction having, in, combination, a-hose coupling member, piping fixedly connected atone end to the coupling member so as to be stationary throughout relatively thereto,- a nozzle for discharging an atomized spray mountedon the other end of'the piping so that the axis of spray discharge is angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the piping, a handle construction rotatably associated with the coupling'member, and another handle construction non-'swingably mounted on the piping and spaced from both the first handle construction and the nozzle.

6. A play pipe construction having, in combination, a hose coupling member, piping fixedly connected at one end to the hose coupling memher so as to be stationary'throughout relatively thereto, a nozzle for discharging an atomized spray mounted on the other end of the piping so that the axis of spray discharge is angularly dis posed to the longitudinal axis of the piping, a handle construction. rotatably associated with the hose coupling member, a coupling'fixed to the piping, and ahandle construction nonswingably mounted on said piping coupling."

7. A play pipe construction having, in combination, a hose coupling. member, piping fixedly connected at one end to the hose coupling member so as to be stationarythroughout relatively thereto, a nozzlefor discharging an atomized spray mounted on the other end of the piping so that the axis of spray discharge is angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the piping, a handle construction rotatably associated with the hose coupling member, a coupling fixed to the piping and spaced from both the first handle construction and the nozzle, and another handle construction non-swingably mounted on said piping coupling.

8. A play pipe construction having, in combination, a hose coupling member, a pipe fixedly connected at one end to the hose coupling memper, a pipe coupling mounted on the other end of the pipe, a second pipe fixedly connected to said pipe coupling so as to form therewith an operative extension of said first pipe, a nozzle for discharging an atomized spray mounted on the other end of the second pipe so that the axis of spray discharge is angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of at least the second pipe, a handle construction rotatably associated with the first coupling member, and another handle construction non-swingably mounted on the pipe coupling.

9. A play pipe construction having, in combination, a hose coupling member, a single length 'of pipe fixedly connected at one end to the hose coupling member, a nozzle for discharging an atomized spray mounted onthe other end of the pipe length so that the axis of spray discharge is angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the pipe, a handle construction rotatably associated with the hose coupling member, a support embracing the pipe length and fixed thereon between the hose coupling member and the nozzle, and a second handle construction non-swingably mounted on the support.

WAYNE B. THOMPSON.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No." 2,15 5 47. I I w f I October 25,1938.

' V Mm momsom v Itis herebyeertified that error afipeere 1n the pzfinted'speeificetion of the above numbered patent requiring correction as fielLlowe:- Page 2, first,

column, line 25 for "ho reedhose; page seeond ceZLumn,'-' line 8, claim 2,- before the syllable cohneCt-lns'ert f 1 6C117 page 5, second 0011mm, line 5, claim '8, for "first" read. hose; and. that the said L etctei'e Petent sheuld be read with thiscorrectien thereinithat the same, 'may confenfi to the record of the case in the'Pateht-dffice:

Signed and sealed thieth day of December; A. E1958,

Henry Van Arsdale (Seal) -Act1ng,Ge1mn1ssioner-bf Patente'. 

